In the News-New York State
Governor Hochul Looks to Advanced Clean Energy Technologies to Support NY’s Energy Grid
At the Future Energy Economy Summit held this week Governor Kathy Hochul called for advanced clean energy technologies to play a key role in supporting renewable energy and economic development.
“I’m so excited about this ‘all of the above’ approach — except for the fracking and the coal — wind and solar, geothermal, hydrogen or even splitting an atom.” Governor Hochul said in published reports.
The Summit, held in Syracuse, was convened at Governor Hochul’s direction to explore strategies to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy and study the role of next generation emissions-free technologies. Participants included leaders from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Department of Public Service, Empire State Development, New York Power Authority, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Health, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Department of Labor, industry, and organized labor.
“New York stands at a pivotal moment where bold decisions must be made to meet both the energy and employment needs of our state,” United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada International Representative John Murphy explained. “With the Public Service Commission recognizing new nuclear, clean hydrogen, and thermal energy networks as part of the renewable energy family, we can unlock billions in federal funding to build the infrastructure needed for a clean energy future. The skilled trades are ready to ensure these projects provide good jobs and reliable energy for generations to come, and with Governor Hochul’s leadership, we can seize this opportunity to make real progress.”
According to the Governor, three takeaways from the Summit include the need to prioritize continued focus on building New York’s renewable energy grid including wind and solar; to “bring new attention” to new and existing emissions-free resources to support the State’s renewable; and to maximize the potential federal funding opportunities to further support economy growth strategies.
The Summit outlined next steps needed to accelerate progress toward a zero-emission electricity system. The State will engage the industry to undertake the following next steps:
- Complete the ongoing Public Service Commission review of the State’s large-scale renewable energy program, known as the Clean Energy Standard (CES) by early 2025 and advance actions to accelerate and expand New York’s large-scale renewable energy industry and the timely implementation of the RAPID Act for expedited environmental reviews and permitting of major renewable energy and electric transmission facilities;
- Maximize leverage of federal programs by applying for funding opportunities for economic development and next generation emissions-free energy technology planning and deployment;
- Advance Public Service Commission action on the pending ‘Zero Emissions by 2040’ proceeding that is investigating technologies that support the 2040 zero-emissions electricity system target established through New York’s Climate Act;
- Solicit industry feedback on the draft Advanced Nuclear Technologies Blueprint and finalize the draft blueprint by the end of this year; and
- Ensure that the next State Energy Plan, developed by the New York State Energy Planning Board recently convened by Governor Hochul, appropriately considers the role advanced emissions-free technologies can play in the State’s move to a renewable electric grid and capitalization of programs that will expand the State’s economy.
The State Energy Planning Board meets on Monday, September 9th and is expected to release a draft of the scope to be used to revise the New York’s State Energy Plan.
Laws of the State of New York
Chapter 302 – Sponsored by AM Buttenschon/Senator Skoufis – Requires an agency responding to a request for public employee disciplinary records to develop a policy to notify the public employee whose personal information is subject to the request.
Chapter 303 – Sponsored by AM Pheffer Amato/Senator Jackson – Permits individuals within twelve months of meeting the minimum age or educational qualifications for a competitive class civil service role to take the civil service examination for that position.
Chapter 304 – Sponsored by AM Bronson/Senator Ramos – Requires contractors and subcontractors working on covered projects submit their payrolls or transcripts to the fiscal officer.
Chapter 305 – Sponsored by AM Pheffer Amato/Senator Jackson – Requires the New York state department of civil service to review and, if necessary, update the questions on civil service exams every five years beginning in 2025.
Chapter 306 – Sponsored by AM Pheffer Amato/Senator Jackson – Requires employers to promptly provide employees with all of the information relating to allegations by employers that such employees are unable to perform their duties due to a disability.
Chapter 307 – Sponsored by Senator Jackson/AM Pheffer Amato – Requires that any time spent as a provisional employee be counted towards any required term that is required to take a promotional examination and receive an appointment from an eligible list.
Chapter 308 – Sponsored by AM Reyes/Senator Ramos – Establishes the retail worker safety act requiring retail worker employers to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence.
Chapter 310 – Sponsored by Rules (McDonald)/ Senator Stavisky – Conforms the New York State college choice tuition savings program (NY 529) with certain provisions of federal law related to eligible higher education expenses paid from a qualified tuition program, specifically qualified education loan repayments, and the rollover of 529 account proceeds to a Roth IRA.
Laws of the State of New York
Chapter 228 – Sponsored by AM Paulin/Senator Cleare — Requires certain insurers to provide coverage for tattooing performed by a physician as part of breast reconstruction surgery.
Chapter 250 — Sponsored by AM Taylor/Senator Ramos — Relates to fees and expenses in unemployment insurance proceedings; extending effectiveness
Chapter 252 — Sponsored by AM McDonald/Senator Ryan — Extends the State’s provision allowing small businesses the opportunity to cure certain de minimus violations as opposed to an immediate fine.
Chapter 255 — Sponsored by AM Burgos/Senator Sepulveda — Authorizes the City of New York to alienate certain parcels of land to enable the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to make critical improvements related to the Penn Station Access Project
Chapter 256 — Sponsored by AM Lupardo/Senator Hinchey — Clarifies the requirement for each livestock and equine rescue facility to hold a Domestic Animal Health Permit.
Chapter 264 — Sponsored by AM Simone/Senator Kreuger — Extends, for five years, until January 1,2030, the ability for counties to retain any fines collected by a proceeding to enforce the polystyrene packaging foam container and loose fill ban which was initiated by the county.
Chapter 284 — Sponsored by AM Sillitti/Senator Harckham — Extends the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, established to provide financial assistance to recipients, generally municipalities, to construct and upgrade eligible water pollution control projects, to 2027.
Chapter 291 — Sponsored by AM Hevesi/Senator Persaud — Extends, for an additional three years, reporting requirements of the Office of Children and Family Services regarding child welfare preventive services.
Chapter 292 — Sponsored by AM McDonald/ Senator Gallivan — Requires that release mechanism standards for swimming pool enclosures be developed by the state fire prevention and building code council based on internationally recognized standards.
Chapter 293 — Sponsored by AM Pheffer Amato/Senator Mannion — Extends the temporary “commission to prevent childhood drowning” to improve water safety in New York state another year.
Chapter 294 — Sponsored by Senator Mannion/AM Reyes — Provides that the department of health may conduct education and outreach programs promoting public awareness of the dangers of fatal and non-fatal drowning.
Chapter 297 — Sponsored by Senator Palumbo/AM Giglio — Designates a portion of the state highway system as the “NYPD Detective Brian P. Simonsen Memorial Bridge”
NYS Department of Financial Services 2025 Individual and Small Group Requested & Approved Rate Actions
Small Group Market
Over 700,000 New Yorkers are enrolled in small group plans, which cover employers with up to 100 employees. Insurers requested an average rate increase of 18.6% in the small group market, which DFS cut by 55% to 8.4% for 2025, saving small businesses $766 million. A number of small businesses also will be eligible for tax credits that may lower those premium costs even further, such as the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.
Individual Market
Insurers requested an average rate increase of 16.6% in the individual market, which DFS cut by 23% to 12.7% for 2025, saving consumers $87 million. Approximately 260,000 New Yorkers are currently enrolled in individual commercial plans.
New York’s Essential Plan
DFS’s rate actions do not include the Essential Plan, available through NY State of Health, which is available at no premium to lower-income New Yorkers who qualify.
Yesterday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York State received a final commitment of $10 billion from the federal government through the State Innovation Waiver to implement expansion of the Essential plan. The expanded eligibility ensured that more than 200,000 additional New Yorkers are newly covered under the Essential Plan this year, making a total of approximately 1.5 million covered statewide.
In the News-New York City
Comptroller Lander Exposes NYC’s Worst Workers’ Rights Offenders, Launches Labor Violations Dashboard
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander this week unveiled his office’s Employer Violations Dashboard—a new tool that consolidates data from federal, state, and city enforcement agencies— to identify employers who violated key labor laws across the five boroughs. The dashboard tracks businesses’ violations of a range of workers’ rights and protections, including workplace health and safety violations, wage theft, prevailing wage violations, illegal interference with unionization efforts, and discrimination and harassment.
“When companies steal their workers’ wages, commit unfair labor practices, or put workers’ lives at risk, the public should be able to clearly see it,” Comptroller Brad Lander explained.
The new dashboard tracks labor violations investigated by government agencies and provides detailed information on offenses committed by private sector employers, including some contracted with public entities, within New York City. Covering data from 2020-2023, the dashboard offers a first-of-its kind comprehensive view of recent labor law enforcement in New York City. The dashboard can be searched by type of violation or by employer, and the full dataset— which brings together information from multiple city, state, and federal agencies—is available for download.
The dashboard also features an annual “Employer Wall of Shame,” which highlights employers who committed the most significant labor law violations in past years, ranging from workplace safety infractions and wage theft to illegal unionization interference and discrimination. The Comptroller’s Office identified these employers based on the severity and frequency of their violations.
“We fully support and offer our thanks to the City Comptroller for launching the very first Employer Violations Dashboard or more appropriately named, ‘Employer Wall of Shame,’” said Thomas Gesualdi, President, Joint Council No. 16, International Brotherhood of Teamsters. “We are certain the data from city, state and federal agencies in the dashboard will serve as an invaluable tool toward ensuring the rights of working families, while providing transparency in revealing some of the City’s most abusive and exploitive employers. We are grateful to Comptroller Lander for putting workers’ rights first.”
2024 Employer Wall of Shame companies include:
- Chipotle Mexican Grill committed the highest number of Unfair Labor Practices (ULPs) in New York City in 2023 with seven violations primarily involving coercion and retaliation against employees attempting to unionize. Chipotle also paid over $350,000 to more than 9,000 workers as a result of New York State Department of Labor wage theft investigations and paid over $22 million in settlements with the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protections for failing to adhere to the Fair Workweek and Paid Safe and Sick Leave laws, affecting over 9,000 workers.
- American Business Institute (ABI), a Queens-based home healthcare agency, was the largest wage theft offender across all New York State Department of Labor cases from 2020 to 2022. ABI owed over $14.3 million to 175 workers for failing to pay minimum wage across three investigations.
- Timeless Roofing, a construction company, received back-to-back willful OSHA violations in 2022 and 2023 for failing to provide fall protection at residential construction sites in Queens.
- Amazon had 153 alleged ULP violations, including the highest number of open and ongoing charges, where unions and workers allege that employers committed ULPs in New York City from 2020 to 2023. Of the 153 alleged violations, some ULP cases allege illegal interference in union organizing and bad faith bargaining. Additionally, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection investigated Amazon for local labor law violations and entered into a $222,454 settlement for Paid Safe and Sick Leave Law. The company has been criticized for using third party contractors and misclassifying workers to evade legal responsibility.
- Uber entered into the largest wage and hour settlement by the New York State Attorney General in 2023, paying $290 million for illegally deducting earnings from drivers by shifting costs of sales taxes and Black Car Fund fees onto them. Uber also failed to provide drivers with paid safe and sick leave as required under New York City and New York State law.
- Lyft, like Uber, settled with the New York State Attorney General for $38 million in 2023 for similar wage and hour violations. Lyft illegally deducted earnings from drivers and failed to provide paid sick leave.
- Gucci settled with the New York City Commission on Human Rights for $330,000 in a sexual harassment case in 2023, one of the agency’s largest monetary settlements of the year. In addition to the payment, the settlement included affirmative relief, where Gucci was required to provide anti-discrimination training to employees, revise their gender-based discrimination policy with oversight from the Commission, undergo monitoring, and display “Notice of Rights” posters in stores and corporate offices.
“We applaud Comptroller Lander and his team for this innovative new tool which will play a crucial role in exposing employers who flout labor laws across NYC, providing workers and advocates with a powerful resource to hold those who violate our rights accountable,” said New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO President Vincent Alvarez. “By tracking these types of violations, we can better protect workplace safety, prevent wage theft, and ensure fair treatment, respect, and the protected right to organize for all workers.”
Briefs
New Law Bans Sale of Plate Covers, Increases Penalties for Obscuring License Plate Information
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is reminding New Yorkers of a new law, effective September 1st, that now bans the sale of license plate covers and increases penalties for those convicted of obscuring a license plate to avoid detection or toll collection.
The new law increases penalties for covering a license plate with a glass or plastic covering, or with any kind of material or substance that could distort a recorded or photographic image of the plate taken by a traffic camera or electronic toll reader.
Monetary fines for these violations are increasing from not less than $100 to no more than $500, and anyone convicted of purposely obscuring their plate with a cover or special material will have to surrender that cover or material. Repeat plate covering offenders with three or more convictions within five years will now face a 90-day suspension of their vehicle registration.
It is also illegal to sell or distribute those materials and covers, or any material designed to look like a lawful license plate but has not been issued by the NYS DMV or similar agencies in other states.
The new law is part of ongoing enforcement efforts under Governor Kathy Hochul’s direction, including the establishment of a multi-agency task force to crack down on “ghost” plates and “ghost” cars using fake or altered plates.
Comptroller DiNapoli: NYSLRS Announces Employer Contribution Rates For 2025-26
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli this week announced employer contributions rates for the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025-26. Employers’ average contribution rates will increase from 15.2% to 16.5% of payroll for the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) and from 31.2% to 33.7% of payroll for the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS).
NYSLRS is made up of these two systems, which pay service and disability retirement benefits to state and local public employees and death benefits to their survivors. There are nearly 3,000 participating employers in ERS and PFRS, and more than 300 different retirement plan combinations. In the SFY that ended March 31, 2024, NYSLRS paid out nearly $16.2 billion in benefits.
Payments based on the new rates are due by February 1, 2026, but employers receive a discount if payment is made by Dec. 15, 2025.
Comptroller DiNapoli also announced that NYSLRS had a funded ratio of 93.2% as of March 31, 2024. NYSLRS has more than 1.2 million members, which includes over 710,000 current and former state and local government employees and more than 520,000 retirees and their beneficiaries.
New York Attorney General Releases Guide to Understand AI-generated Misinformation
New York Attorney General Letitia James this week released a guide, “Protecting New Yorkers from AI-Generated Election Misinformation,” to help New Yorkers identify and report misinformation generated by artificial intelligence (AI) about the upcoming November elections.
The guide includes examples of how AI-generated materials can be used by bad actors to spread misinformation. The guide also includes tips on how to be vigilant against AI-generated deepfakes, and how to avoid spreading misinformation through social media. AI tools can be used by bad actors to create real-looking photographs, videos, or audio recordings of a person without their knowledge or consent. This fake content, known as deepfakes, can appear to show someone making statements that they never made, or taking actions that they never did. Deepfakes may aim to deceive voters about candidates, eligibility to vote, and where, when, or how to vote.
Attorney General James urges New Yorkers seeing misleading or inaccurate information about the elections, particularly misinformation concerning the time, place and manner of voting, to contact her office by filing an online complaint. When submitting the complaint form, please select “Other” and enter “Election Misinformation” for the complaint topic, and please include a copy of the misleading or inaccurate content.
Governor Hochul Announces Trade Mission to the Caribbean Region
Governor Kathy Hochul this week announced a trade mission to the Caribbean in December 2024, which will bring up to ten New York-based companies to two Caribbean nations, aimed at launching and increasing export efforts within this important region.
The trade mission, sponsored by Empire State Development’s Global NY division, will organize events and meetings with local experts on key topics such as trade and tax policy to support the businesses’ success in the Caribbean. The trade mission will also feature business-to-business (B2B) meetings for attendees with potential buyers and distributors. Companies can apply to have part of their travel costs reimbursed through the Global NY State Trade Expansion Program (STEP).
Global NY, a division of Empire State Development, offers financial and technical assistance that can offset the costs of exporting for New York businesses and organizations looking to connect to the rest of the world. Available support includes grants and loans to help qualifying small and medium-sized businesses looking to start or increase their global exports and non-profit organizations that provide export assistance and trade education to New York State companies.
NYC Council Releases New Report Examining the Conditions of Bathrooms in City Parks
Investigation of over 100 public restrooms found that majority had health or safety issues, or were closed
The New York City Council this week released Nature’s Call, a report on the findings of an investigation into the cleanliness, conditions, functionality, safety, and accessibility of 102 public restrooms within New York City parks. The investigation, led by the Council’s Oversight and Investigation Division in partnership with the Council’s Community Engagement Division and Committee on Parks and Recreation, found that two-thirds of inspected restrooms (68 of 102) were closed or found to have health or safety issues.
Among the persistent issues observed were the prevalence of litter in 40 percent of restrooms and unsanitary conditions in 23 percent of restrooms. Additionally, there was a lack of garbage cans in 30 percent of the locations visited, and only 8 percent of restrooms had menstrual product bins. The inconsistent availability of required amenities in Parks bathrooms was notable, with nearly one in four restrooms missing baby changing stations. The survey found 30% of men’s restrooms lacked baby changing stations, while 17% of women’s restrooms did not have them.
Coming Up
New York State
Monday, September 9th
Board of Regents Meeting, New York State Education Building – Regents Room, 9 a.m.
NYS Energy Planning Board Meeting, New York State Energy Board Meeting, Empire State Plaza, Meeting Room 6, Albany, 2 pm.
Tuesday, September 10th
Board of Regents Meeting, New York State Education Building – Regents Room, 10:05 a.m. Cannabis Control Board Meeting, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, 11 a.m.
New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Governor Lobbyist Bimonthly Lobbying Reports are due on Monday, September 16th.
New York City
Monday, September 9th
Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and Intergroup Relations, Council Chamber – City Hall, 12 p.m.
Tuesday, September 10th
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Committee Room – City Hall, 10 a.m. Committee on Economic Development, Committee Room – City Hall, 10 a.m.
Committee on General Welfare, Committee Room – City Hall, 10 a.m
Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, and Dispositions, 250 Broadway – Committee Room, 14th Floor, 11 a.m.
Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises, 250 Broadway – Committee Room, 14th Floor, 12 p.m. Committee on Land Use, 250 Broadway – Committee Room, 14th Floor, 2 p.m.
Thursday, September 12th
Committee on Rules, Privileges, and Elections, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m. Committee on Finance, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10:30 a.m.
City Council Stated Meeting, Council Chambers – City Hall, 1:30 p.m.
Friday, September 13th
Committee on Health, Council Chambers – City Hall, 10 a.m.
New York City Clerk Lobbyist Bimonthly Lobbying Reports are due on Monday, September 16th.
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